This invention relates to new and useful improvements in the design and fabrication of a brace or orthosis, referred to as a cuff or sleeve, which is to be used in the treatment of tennis elbow, either medial or lateral. Tennis elbow includes the painful condition known as epicondylitis and epicondylalgia.
Current methods of applying an external force to the lateral or medial area of the proximal forearm in order to relieve the stress imposed on the tender area of the muscle and/or the ligamentous attachment during activity, is to use a fabric band of approximately 2 inches in width which is circumferentially wrapped around the forearm and closed with a pressure sensitive fastener such as Velcro. Such bands are disclosed in J Bone Joint Surg 53A, page 183-184, 1971 by Froimson.
However such bands, although they often effect some relief, tend to dislocate on the forearm and may be foam rubber lined to prevent this. Such bands, in order to be effective, have to be relatively tight thereby tending to cause venous congestion and edema if worn too tightly or for too long. Therefore it is recommended that they are to be worn only for actual play or high stress producing situations.
Once present, the pain of tennis elbow can and often is present in all activities of daily living involving the use of the affected elbow. In such acute cases, the fabric band is often supplemented by anesthetic and steroid injections but these of course also have unfortunate side effects in certain patients.